The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: My Year in Review
It is tough having a birthday between Christmas and New Year’s. Also, as a wrestler, my birthday always fell during wrestling season. As an educator, it was always a break time. One time, one year, I was not on vacation for my birthday, but it was on a weekend. Those the breaks of the end of the year vacations, breaks, and birthdays.
It is also a good time to reflect. As I sit here on the last day of December 2020, there is a lot to think about. This year has been full on and crazy! As an American, there has been a lot to talk about with our political system, healthcare, and how we deal with human issues. As a person, I have dealt with a lot this year. As an educator, this has been one roller coaster year that I was NEVER taught about in college. There was never a college course that prepped me for what this last year was and continues to be.
In hindsight though, 2020 was a good year. (Yes, I just said hindsight is 2020.)
Quick Review
This year, my family and I were lucky in many ways. We left China before things were too bad here. We stayed in the United States while things were good there. We returned to China right after they instituted quarantines, but before you had to do that in a hotel. We spent 14 days in our own home in China. Then, when we got out, we were able to return to a fairly normal life because of the measures China took to manage the viral spread. If we had made the decision to stay just a little longer in Washington State, we might never had made it back.
We taught online for a couple months, but then we were able to return to school and teach face to face. Most of my students returned to school and were involved in classes. Now, I am dealing only with the normal issues of students who are in face-to-face classes. Most of our students returned and we even got some new ones. It was not a bad experience.
Watching social media and connecting with friends over the past 12 months, I know that our experience was not the norm. It was one of luck of the draw and living and teaching in China. We did not face many of the issues that other schools have dealt with. We have been in school and only had one COVID scare in the entire time we have been here.
So here it is, some of my own thoughts about the year. When I was a coach for sports, I would reflect on competitions using a basic routine. We talked about the good, those things that we did well as individuals or as a team. The bad, those things that we as a team did not do well and we knew better, and we could also fix these issues. The ugly, the stuff that was out of our control, but we needed to address because it impacted our performance. So, here is it, my Good, Bad and Ugly list for 2020.
First, The Ugly.
Politics.
As an American, US politics dominated the media and social media feeds for far too long. Decisions were made that were political in nature and not based on facts or science. Or, decisions were made based on inaccurate information and were politicized. The US politicians did not shine for their greatness this year. It spilled into everything else. And living overseas, I got tired of explaining this.
People’s Responses to Politics
I got tired of the nastiness of social media this year and either unfriended or unfollowed many people simply due to how they acted. These were people who do not understand that once it is online, it stays online. It was never the topic being discussed; it was the nasty way that it was being discussed. The insults, the abuse, the verbal vomit heaped upon people online. I was surprised by some people, but I was okay with that if we could speak about the issue with level heads. This did not impress me about this year. We can do better than this, but if this is exposing our base natures, I worry about the future.
COVID
The world was significantly impacted by SARS. Families, loss of life, illness, travel, small businesses significantly impacted, testing, mass testing, travel restrictions, you name it. COVID has impacted our lives in ways we never expected. In some very bad ways, and some good.
The Bad
This year, I honestly did not have a lot of decisions that were bad. I struggled like everyone else with COVID, I did not like online teaching, I struggled socially and emotionally, and I had my outbursts. I would not categorize these as bad though. I think that they are more normal than anything.
I was not amazing this year. I am not an amazing new musician. I did not read a ton of books. I did not become a master chef. I did not become a leader in the world of education. I survived. That is enough. Now, I need to look forward with what I learned to become better in the years to come.
The Good
Time with my family.
I got to spend a lot of time with my family. I got to spend a lot of time with my mother and my in-laws. This was something that would not have done otherwise. During our periods of teaching online and at home, I was able to spend a lot of quality time with my children. Sometimes, it was just being with them as we all worked. Sometimes it was actively learning, engaging, talking, or just watching a movie. But the connection with my family was a positive of this year.
Writing
I hated writing in school. I never really liked it, but I was blessed with some teachers who taught me to write well. I did not appreciate it at the time. I have always known I can write; I just have not created the time to sit down and do it. This year, at the encouragement of a new international connection, I started writing. I had time, I put words on paper, and I got better at it, plus some traction as a writer. Not much, but enough to keep me writing. Others suggested that it was helpful and appreciated for them. We will see where it goes. I know that I am going to keep writing and posting it for others to read. I will continue to write about Classrooms in Crisis and addressing issues of classroom management and other issues that teachers deal with. Watch for more of those coming soon.
Online Connections and Community
This year, I was blessed to connect with some people online. Not just on standard social media, but in a business and world connection sense. I made some strong connections with people in other businesses and have enjoyed those connections with others who think differently than educators. Not only do our conversations force me to explain education, I wrestle with concepts and ideas such as entrepreneurship in my own field. The simple question of, “I do this in my field, can you do it in yours?” has pushed my thinking this year. I am excited as I look forward to seeing where these connections go.
Technology Use
I am SO MUCH better at using some programs this year than I ever was. I was forced to deal with my own inadequacies in online programs. I am not bad at technology use. I would say I am at least average, maybe above average. But I have some deficiencies and gaps. Many things I did this year, I had to learn either from scratch, or relearn because I was not doing them efficiently. I am significantly better now at using the tools I have available to me.
Podcasting
I started a podcast with a friend kind of by accident. I suggested that work he was doing needed to be shared. He thought that was a great idea and told me to go for it and he would support me. So, I learned how to set up a home recording studio, and we had a little podcast that started. Physical and Health Education in the MYP started and has gained some traction. We need to continue with it though as we slowed down simply because of work for both of us. But more will be coming. I am also toying with another podcast in line with Classrooms in Crisis. Rather than just writing, getting it out there in another format. We will see where that leads.
Helping and Supporting People
People have been particularly important to me this year. Many of my friends are in places where they are truly struggling and doing amazing work to survive and thrive during COVID lockdown orders. I have tried to reach out to specific people and connect with them during this time. I have talked with people who are struggling and tried to encourage them. I have chatted with people about their work and encouraged them to keep going. I have chatted with friends and challenged them to do something new, because I felt that their work was valuable and worth getting out to the world. Some of them have even taken those steps and put out some good work. That is what makes me happy. People encouraging people to be better tomorrow than today. To seek out and become what they are meant to be then to move forward and do it. I am inspired by watching my friends make a positive impact on the world.
Impact of COVID
Yes, I said the impact of COVID is a good thing. This year, we have ripped to band aid off of some pretty serious wounds and exposed the infection and disease hidden below the surface. Social issues have been exposed for what they are. Concerns about health care, housing, and equal opportunities have been lain bare for the world to see. The failings of education have been shown for what it is. The challenges faced by those who are not of white, European descent have been put squarely in the forefront of our view. We do not like facing these issues. Here is the thing though, we are not painfully aware of these impacts and can make positive changes in our world. We can be and do better in the future as we address these challenges. It is not all bad.
Families have come together. We learned that we do not need all the stuff that we have. Educators have been working near miracles to keep students connected. The medical profession has been stretched to its capacity in places and continues to save people. There are everyday heroes everywhere showing us what it means to care about communities. People have re-connected with others and connected with new people. New, better ways of doing work are happening. Life is being re-adjusted, and the world is seeing that it can work. COVID has been damaging, but in many ways, it has brought us together.
Final Thoughts
We are not through this yet. Even with a vaccine available, it will take time to administer it across a large enough population to have a positive impact on large communities. But there is hope that this process has already begun and we are moving forward.
This year has been full of challenges for me yes. But more importantly it has been full of joy and hope. There is a lot of positive coming from this year. I see things differently for my life and I look forward to what 2021 will bring as I make positive shifts moving forward with what I learned from 2020.
I wish you a genuinely happy new year. I hope that you are looking forward to positively impacting the coming year. Please feel free to share what has been positive for you this year and what you are looking forward to in the new year.
